Chaplain Goldstein speaks at Chabad of Upper Montgomery County
Colonel Chaplain Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein addressed an audience of over seventy five people at Chabad of Upper Montgomery County in Gaithersburg, Maryland last Sunday, describing his experiences over the last 28 years as Chaplain in the United States Army. He serves as Chief Chaplain of the New York National Guard. When he entered the army, an exception was made allowing him to keep his beard. “As a Chabad Chassidic Jew, I am the only member of the United States Defense Force with a beard,” he remarked.
Chaplain Goldstein has served in many war-torn areas including Grenada, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His travels have taken him to other exotic locations including Bahrain and Uzbekistan. In addition to his overseas deployment, on 9/11 and for the subsequent months, Chaplain Goldstein served as Chief Chaplain for all faiths at Ground Zero.
The lecture opened with Goldstein asking all men or women who have ever served in the US military services to please rise, whereupon he saluted them for their services. Goldstein then shared many of his personal experiences with the crowd.
Rabbi Goldstein related how he became an Army Chaplain after being encouraged to do so by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneersohn. While in Lubavitch Yeshiva he had visited local National Guard training sites to bring Judaism to the weekend warriors who were undergoing training. When he was offered a position, he asked the Rebbe, who surprised the Chaplain with his encouragement and blessing to take the job.
He recalled Passover Seders on board the JFK Aircraft Carrier that was stationed in the Gulf region. He landed and left by airplane landing on the flight deck of the carrier. The Seders were conducted in the wee hours of the morning, as the carrier was operating on a schedule where 12 midnight to 12 Noon was ‘daytime’ operating hours. After conducting the Seder, one of the pilots showed the Chaplain his plane loaded for his mission on which he was about to embark on. The pilot had painted Chag Sameach on one of his armaments as a message to the enemy. When Chaplain Goldstein was invited by the Admiral to share a meal in the Admiral’s quarters, the Chaplain brought his Passover food and a box of Matzah which he shared with everyone around the table. The Admiral was not surprised as he had grown up in Jersey City, NJ, and had been the ‘Shabbos Goy’ for many of the Jewish families, and was very familiar with Jewish practices.
When Chaplain Goldstein was assigned to Iraq where he spent Succot and Simchat Torah, he arranged for Hakofot to be held in one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces. Being in Iraq also gave him the opportunity to visit Biblical sites, including the ancient city of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, and Ninveh, modern day Mosul, where the story of Jonah takes place.
Chaplain Goldstein also spoke passionately about bringing in Lulavim and Esrogim to the Jewish troops under the most difficult circumstances, including one incident that happened while stationed in Bosnia in the 1990s. It was a couple of hours before Yom Kippur when he received a phone call from a US Diplomat stationed in Macedonia. The diplomat had tracked down his phone number from the Chaplains office of the Army and was calling requesting a Lulav and Estrog for Sukkot. As nothing could be done before Yom Kippur, only a few days would be available to get the Lulov and Etrog to Macedonia. In the early hours after Yom Kippur, he got on the phone with his friend from New York where the Yom Tov had just concluded, and gave him the instructions to bring a Lulav and Estrog immediately to JFK airport, to a special Diplomatic desk where it would be put into a Diplomatic pouch and hopefully get to Macedonia in time for Sukkot. After Sukkot when he spoke to the diplomat, he found out that not only had the Lulov & Etrog arrived a few short hours before Sukkot, but that it was the only set in town and had been shared with everyone in the synagogue. In the synagogue an elderly gentleman came up and uncontrollably repeatedly shook the Lulov & Etrog. It was the first time since the Nazis had entered Macedonia that he had been able to fulfill the Mitzvah.
He also shared heart-wrenching tales of 9/11, including the discovery of a Kippa on the scene of Ground Zero inscribed with “Wedding Reception of Steven and Stephanie ~ September 10, 2001”.
Upon opening the floor to questions, the crowd eagerly asked for more. When asked if he ever experienced anti-Semitism in the military, he responded he never personally experienced it, although acknowledging that it does exist. Regarding providing Kosher food to Jewish servicemen, he informed the crowd that there are now Kosher MREs [Army Meals Ready to Eat] that actually taste better than the regular meals. For this year the military is even producing Kosher for Passover MREs.
The evening ended with a member from the audience, Retired Two Star General Nolan Sklute, thanking Chaplain Goldstein on behalf of the crowd for his service to the nation and to the Jewish People.
